The Dillon tribune., 1887-09-16
gle 1iMon !Gribu',e.
AT THE SEASIDE.
SKETCHES OF LIFE At ASBURY
PARK AND OCEAN GROVE.

Nothing but Girls-Simpic Customs Tna;
Prevail-l.ifc in ia Tcnt-Sociablc Board
ing IIousc~--Drcs> Parade IIour-Pho
tosraphing Stockings.
The place is simply the summer home
of thousands upon thousands of nice
'homcy'' sort Of girls. There isn't any.
thing else here but girls-no carousals, no
merry go rounds, 10 rifle galleries. no
roller coasters, no pony carts. no auto
matte weighing machines, no obscrvato-
ries, no Frankfurter sausage stands, nc
catch penny chance gamcs-nO,e Of those
thousand and one devices that amuse the
summer loitcrcr at other resorts; nothing
but girls. And the girls must have some
amusement besides bathing and getting
dry again, so one and all engage in that
pleasing and innocuous pastirnc COM
monty known as flirting. The daughters
of religious parents, themselves raised
within the pale of the church, they throw
an air Of devotion into the little advances
they make, and the most insistent man
soon finds out how perfectly innocent they
are in all this Without an evil thought
in their pretty heads, they do things here
that they would never think of doing at
homo.
Started as religious community, with
Ocean Grove still the great home Of that
American institution-thc camp meeting
-one-llalf the residents come here be-
cause they arc interested in church work.
A seni-tcvo:ional air pcrvades the place
and finds expression in series of rules
that stare out at one from every bath
house door and post along the beach.
On Sundays the gates to Ocean Grove
arc closed. Heavy bars shut out ell
vehicles from her >'reets. The iccmcn
the butcher, the baker and the milk,nan
are not allowed within the grounds. and
newspapers are barred out. The board
walk runs for two miles along he beach.
connecting the two towns, and u chalk
mark shows the dividing line between
Ocean Grove and Asbury Park. Here
Sunday mornings the ncwsboys gather on
the Asbury Park side, toe the mark and
sell papers to such of the Ocean Grove
residents as care for that sort of dissipa-
ton.
One thing that makes this cheap place
to live is the tents. You can hire n tent
for SS a month and get board for 81 {,
week At the 500 boarding houses that
make glad the place the average price is
not more than IS q week. OF course
there is no such thing as privacy in tent.
The flap that serves us q door has to be
left open or one will suffocatc with heat.
The little apcrtures cut in the canvas that
serve rs windows are only 40 many prying
holes through which the curious can peep
IT he feel so inclined. Albright young girl
who lives in one of these tents, talking of
this publicity, said that she used to be
taught that the eye of Providence was al
ways on her, but now she knew that the
eye OF man always was, and it made her
uncomfortable.
You have heard much talk Of tho way
young ladies walk about the streets and
stand about in public PLACES in bath cos
tune, and you have shrugged yo,ir shoul-
ders and thought "IIow shamclcss,' But
1t isn't. / assure you it is not meant to
be immodest, and it is the only thing tho
bathers can do. They live at Sc boarding
houses and cannot afford to spend twenty
hve or nifty cents II day for bath houses
1t IS cheap and sensible thing to do to
dress at home and walk down to the
beach. They must either do that or fore
60 bathing Since the talk began and tho
newspaper took up the matter and dc.
nounccl the practice Of girls walking
through the streets clad like scrio comic
singers, the dear creatures have taken to
wearing rubber cloaks ard gossamcr
Everybody knows how uncomfortable
rubber cloak is with the thermometer
coquctting about the nnctics. So the
cloaks are usually left unfastcned and the
wind, lifting an end here and there, makes
them very little of n protection Living
in the atmosphere of such u summer re.
sort one loses much Of that fear Of pub.
LEFTY that marks the average American
nome life. The average bathcr will stcp
from the ocean to the pump on tho board
Walk and coolly wash out hcr hair and
stockings before al the crowd: or H,.limnsc
down bath house corridors shows hcr
putting on her shoes where every pnsscr
by can see. Not that any immo,lcsty is
done Or intended. She simply .rets rccus-
toned to doing !hesc things in public, that
il all.
Sunday evening, from 6 TO Q, il the
dress parade hour. The girls p". ~: their
Old party dresses that have tlorc duty tho
past winter and come down to the board
walk i'll all the glory Of lrcolletc c,-s:rc
and cvcnin:, costume. The soft f"ou from
OF silks take the place of the ro,,rhcr
flannel th3t has held the walk all the
week and for t!:n time the women FORGET
thclr "Wee'rearts in their deeper interest
in one anothrr's gowns. But this i; orlv
s ~'>"''SN' buiIliI> ltit week men
Wear flannel shirts to dinner and with y
rare exception or two there is li,.,,. dress
ing ut the hotels.
Every girl gets herself photographed ut
least once in her bathing cost,vr. The
~ arraN~cs the pose that
black stockings shall show up ;.,ains; u
white background and vicn VERSA Some
OF the ruseS employed to got Good rictrrrs
that way Ito credit to the ingenuity Of thc
girls On" photographer had nine differ
cnt negatives of the same yo,,,.s woman.
each photograph showinya y different pose
and different pair Of stocking.
AS the rules posted SO con.;picuously